Secret World of the Okapi, 2008

hopefully will be going for my birthday (october) should see it then, great naturalism, bronx and dak are prob better though

Will the animals get outdoor enclosures in the "heart of africa"? I very much hope so...

Judging from the artist impressions, there are a number of outdoor enclosures leading from from the main structure. Some appear to be moated, so I assume these are indeed enclosures...

I think it's a bit too small as well, I think they have a bigger enclosure in Bristol although this one does appear more "foresty".

Yes but quality is sometimes better than size.

As one who is familiar with all four Okapi enclosures in the UK..
IMO;Chester's is the most naturalistic and the outdoor areas are a reasonable size(though not massive)
Bristol's outdoor enclosures are simple small grassy paddocks, attractive exhibit but small.
London's is a converted corner paddock of the Cotton Terraces and they have planted some trees to give a better feel to it.
Marwell's has one large and one smaller paddock. Its the only place I have seen an Okapi running and is probably the only paddock of the four which is really big enough for that. But its just grass plus a couple of oak trees. Some of their Okapi nowadays also use the adjacent former Bongo house and paddock.

Chester's (and to a lesser extent London's) score on the 'natural' feel, Marwell's is the most spacious.

I don't think it is too small, okapi are normally solitary and I think there is enough room. It's not like they spend all day galloping around the enclosure.

No, I definately don't think its too small either. The two paddocks are a lot longer than they look in this photo which shows only the middle and furthest ground.

Okapi do like to exercise by cantering around sometimes, but even in a moderate size enclosure they can do that by developing a figure of eight pattern around the enclosure. Thy don't do it a great deal but its very graceful to watch (I've only seen this at Marwell)

You've seen oakpi having a canter? I usually have trouble seeing them walk, never mind any other form of movement.

I like the enclosure very much and is mush better than the others I have seen although I would like to see more room given to them, esp if they want to breed them.